The Origin of Nuclear Spin

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Date/Time:Thursday, 01 Dec 2011 - Saturday, 03 Dec 2011
Location:A401 Zaffarano Hall
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Phone:515-294-8894
Channel:College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
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Prof. Calvin Johnson , San Diego State University

All nuclei with an even number of protons and an even number of neutrons have ground state J = 0, while odd-odd nuclei can have ground state J > 0. You may have been taught this is a signature of the nuclear force, but it's not completely true. Through numerical simulations and the use of matrices that are both random and imprinted with non-trivial symmetries, I will argue that nuclear spin has an origin that goes much deeper than details of any force.